astoria bookshop

astoria bookshop

astoria bookshop

Photograph: Lauren Mirsky

Astoria Bookshop

Queens has been woefully lacking in independent booksellers since Astoria’s Seaburn Bookstore shuttered in 2011. But that changed yesterday with the opening of Astoria Bookshop, a new general-interest spot near the Broadway N/Q stop on 31st Street. The store came into being with help from an Indiegogo campaign, which raised almost $7,474 over the course of a month—nearly twice the fund-raising goal.

An extra bonus for Astoria bibliophiles: Enigma Bookstore(33-17 Crescent St at 33rd Rd, Astoria, Queens), which specializes in science fiction, mystery and fantasy tomes, also recently opened up a few blocks away. On the heels of the recent bummerific info about 5 Pointz, it’s nice to get some good news about Queens’ cultural scene.